l engelbach



A. L.'ENGELBACH. 'sucms MACHINE FOR VEGETABLES AND FRUITS.

Patented Nov. 25, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

APPLICATION FILED lAN.13. I919- A. L. ENGELBAcrL sucmc momma FOR VEGETABLES AND rnuns.

APPLICATION men 14.13. m9.

Patented Nov. 20, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I EEK- -rranrormon.

AUGUSTUS. L..-nnen'nnaonfor nnn n'n, oononnno.

SLIGING MACHINE- ron vn'en rannns AND moms.

Z '0 all whom it mayconcern Be it known that I, Anonsrns L. non, a citizen of theUnited States of America, residing at the 'city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented,

' new and useful Slicing-Machines for. Vegetables and Fruits, of which a specification. 1

This invention relates to improvements in slicing or cutting machines for vegetables and fruits.

The primary object of the invention is to.

providea machine by. which potatoescan be cut into either long, narrow strips,.

which, when cooked are commonly known by the appellation of Jul1en, or"shoe string potatoes, or into strips which arethicker and wlder. than the shoe string.

variety, and which, when cooked, are known French fried. Further, to provide a machine havinga circular, rotatable drum provided with a plurality of spaced rotary slitting knives mounted on a common shaft, and a trans-- versely arranged slicing knife located rear of the slittingknives, whereby a potato held against the face .of thedrum. is first given a plurality of parallel slits and the said slitted portion is then sliced off to the :depth of the slits by the slicing knife, thereby producing a series of string-like. pieces of potato of uniform size, upon each rotation of the.

drum, means being provided for holding the potatoes against rotary movement and" also for pressing the sameagainst the-drum Fi 5 is a face view artl i in section of the member-shown in Fig. 4, illustrating the manner of adjustably supporting the rotary slitting knives or disks. r

Fig. 6 is a. fragmentary sectional view ENGEL- the following is Application fi led January13. 1919. Serial No. 270,889.

showing the-opening or mouth of the stating and slicing knives, and also the presser tary member...

by-which thepotato is held against the ro- 7 is a plan view of the said presser. Fig.8 1s a fragmentary sectional view on the hue 88 of Fig. 6, lllustrating the man pw t n R e PatentediioV.25,11919Qj tionaiy casing of the machine, in which potato is placed to be acted upon by the slit nor of supporting. the. wooden abutment which forms the end Wall of the mouth portion of the machine.

Fig. 9 is a detail plan view showingth mouth portion of the machine and the wooden abutment wall. And

'Figa lO- is a fragmentary sectional View illustrating a modificationin the manner of supporting and adjusting the rotary slitting knives. a

The present methods of preparing potatoes to lee-served. as either shoe string or Frenchfried are both slow and laborious, and in most instances the work is accomplished simplyiby first making a series of slits in the potato, with an ordinary knife, and then slicing off the slit portion, and continuing this operation of first slitting and then;

slicing.

Such a method is necessarily slow, 1 and the results are at best, unsatisfactory, as it is lmposslble to produce strings of uniform size. The present invention, however, .overcomes these ob ect1ons by producing a prodnot which -]S of'umform sizethroughout, the" i work being accomplished'with great rapid.-

the person operating the machine.

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Thenumeral 1, refers to the base plate of the machine, and 2, a semi-cylindrical housing or casing member which isconneotedto' the base plate by legs 3, the plate, legs and housing member beingv in the form of an integral casting. On one edge of the housing member are formed-oppositelyarranged lugs or ears 4, which are provided with holes which are in axial hue; and on the opposite edge of the housing member isiformed' a bifurcated lug 5, in which is mounted one end of a swinging bolt 6. A' semi-cylindrical casing member 7, 'restsupon' the casing member 2, and this'latter mem- Y ber 7, has apertured ears 8, on one of its ity,'.and requiring no skillon the part of edges, which lie between and bearagainst the ears 4:, and a pin 9, is passed through the ears 4 and 8, thereby hinging themembe presently described. j One-sine of the cylindr cal housing-1s -open',and the opposite side of eachhousing member is in the form of a wall,which is preferably of a light open work deslgn,

shown, theedges to the walls engaging when the housing is closed, as shown by Fig. 1. 'An axial bearing hub '13, is cast integral with the wall of the casing member 2, and a j second hub 14, is integrally connected to the I hub 13, by an arm or'bracket l5,' the two hubs,being 'in al inement, i I

The drum 12, which rotates within the housing is of slightly less diameter than the housing, and is provided with an, axial hub- 16, which is connected'to spokes 17, which are-"also connected to theband portion of j the drum, as mostclearly shown by-Fig. 4c. 'The hub 16, extends inward from the spokes 17, and connects with the rear inclined wall of a chute 18, the drum and its var1ous parts being'in the form of an integral casting; A

- shaftfl lS'HIOUIltQd in the hubs 13 and lt,

and extends into the hub 16, of the drum, and a set screw 1 secureslthe' hub to the shaft; The outer end of the shaftBU -car v 'ries an arm 1 havin ia handle 1 b means of which the drum 12, may'berotated.

wall, side walls, and .a front portion, which o nection With-a similar semi-circular rim 19 f onothe inner:end of the chute, to form a cir- 'cularaxial spout, asshown. The door 18,] 1 has a'hinge lug .183, on one sidethereof,

which 'lies between, and is pivotally conof the chute. The door is held normally in a closed position by a spring; catch 18 which is securedto one side of the chute,

The outer end of thechute is only partially closed, a portion of the drum' 12,- which forms the outer wall 20 of the chute being omitted to leave an opening about v half the This end wall 20 is and one end of a segmental resilient metal strip 21 is secured. to the wall 20, and eX- tends'froin one side of the chute to a point slightly beyond the end of the wall 20, and

upon the free end ofthisstrip is secured a transversely arranged slicing knife '22,

which lextends to within :a slight distance of' the adjacent edge 23, of-the'drumwhere the wall oftheldrum isoi'nitted or cutaway to form anopening into the chute between the i said edge123 -and the --oppo s1ng edge of the aaa -iemir20 of sienna, The space be tween the edge23fand the cutting'edge I of the knife 22 determines the thickness of the slice-severed fronra potato, and this thick ness may be increased or diminished by adjusting screws' 2et, in threaded apertures inthefront edge portion of thewall 20, which bear against the under side of the segmental strip 21, to "which the knife is secured, the said'screws being adaptedto spring the strip 21 outward, and;thusincrease the distance cutting edge of the knife, or to permit the strip -21to sprlng inward, and thus Clllfill'llSh theidlstan'cebetween the edge 23 and the between tlieedge 23 of the chute and the i cuttingedge ofthe knife 22, thevstrip 21 V beingialways under tension, which causes it) to bear forcibly against the ends of the" I screws24. a I

At a :distancefrom the knife 22, of substantially one-fourth of the circumference knife, a transverse opening 25 is formed in the wall ofthe drum,through which proof the drum 12, and in advance of the said ject the slitting knives 26, which are ranged as follows One of the spokes 17 of 7 the rotary band is providednear l ESjOUiZGI" endwitha countersunk slot 27 and diametrically opposite thisslot is a'n'ear or lug 28,. which projects inward from the rim. of the band and is provided with a slot 29, which 1 opens out through the inner end of the-said The chute 18 comprises .a rear inclined-J lug.,'A pin or screw 30, having a beveled "head, is passed through the slots 27 and 29, is in the form of a door 18 ,theinner end 7 jof which terminates in a semi-circular out-v Wardly projecting rim 19, whichacts in 0011- the beveled head ofthe screw resting in the countersunk slot 27 while: the oppositefend the head of the screw against the face'of the countersunk slot 27, whereby'the screw is .firmly held in any adjusted positionwithin the slots 27 and 29. nected-to ears 18, on the corresponding side Upon the screw 30 is rotatably mounted a sleeve 82, which extends from the spoke 17 .to the lug 28, and upon this sleeve are mounted' a series of spaced knife edge disks and engages the adjacent edge'ofithe door. i

26, which are separated by rings or washers 33; the width of the rings determining the "space between the disks. In assembling the disks-upon the sleeve, one end of the said rings are then'placed upon the sleeve in al- Pternate order, and the opposite end of the sleeve is then upset or flanged so as to bear against the last disk or ring, as the case may be, andthe several disksand rlngs are thus J "sleeve is flanged andthe disks and spacingv i wldth of the chute, as'wi'llbe understood by} reference toFig. a, slightly inset from the face of the drum,

tion shown in Fig. 5; and the screw 'is passed through'the sleeve and clamped in position, in the manner previously described.

The distance which the disks project beyond fried variety, and the'slicing knife 22, is

correspondingly adjusted.

An opening 34, is formed in the curved wallof-the upper casing member 7, and this opening is of 'suflicient-length andwidth to accommodate large sized potatoes, andcon statutes the mouth of the machine. Oppositely arranged sideplates 35, project above the longer sides of the mouth and; act in conjunction with a removable end board 36, to confine the potato within the opening or mouth-34, in which position it bears upon therotary band or drum 12. The end or abutment board 36 is supported in vertical slots 37, in the side plates 35,the lower ends of which terminate in ledges 38', winch limit the downward movement ofthe board, the board being formed with shoulders 39, as shown in Fig. 8, which rest on the said ledges. The lower end of the board 36, extends slightly below the inner face of the casing member 7, and thus prevents the slitting knives from being outwardly adjusted far enough to contact with the casings, as, when the knives engage the edge of the board it is a notification that further outward movement would cause them to contact with the casing. In practice, the slitting knives should project a slightly greater distance beyond the face of the drum than the slicing knife, and though they should cut slightly into the edge of the board, the said board will offer no obstruction to the slicing knife, as the latter knife will pass beneath the edge of the board.

The potatoes are held against the rotary arm by a presser, of the form shown most clearly in Figs. 6 and 7, and which com-- prises a substantially concavo convex plate 40, the under or concave face of which is formed w1th a plurality of spurs 41, which prevent slipping of the potato when they presser is applied. The rear end of the presser terminates in arms 42, which are pivotally connected to upright arms or standards 43, which are formed on the upper casing member 7. the pivotal connection being accomplished by a pin 44,' which is passed through holes in the ends of the said arms 42 and 43, as shown.

In order to limit the downward movement of the presser, and thus prevent the same from contacting with the slicing and slitting knives, 1 provide an adjustable stop inthe form of a screw 45, which enters a lug 46, formed on the casing-member 7, thehead of the screw being engaged by the rear end of theplate portion-of the presse'r, when the-presser reaches thelimit of its downward movement, the limit being the adjustment feature 2 of the slitting knives. In this arrangement the disks are clamped upon the sleeve, which is mounted in a pin or screw, in the manner 'hereinbefore described; but in. themodification, the screw is secured in the end of a yoke 48, which is pivotally secured to ears 49, formed on the wall of the drum. The yoke has a tail 50, the end of which has a threaded aperture.

the threaded aperture in-the endof the tail 50, and an expansion coil spring 52'surrounds the screwand bears at one end against the tail 50, and at the other end. against the wall of the drum, and by turn ing the screw, the yoke is swung on its pivot and the disks are projected through the opening in the drum far enough to slit the potato to the required depth.

In operation, the presser 40 is thrown back out of the mouth of the casing, and a potato, which has been previously pared, is placed in the said mouth so as to rest upon the drum. The presser is then swung over and held against the potato, and the drum isrotated in the manner before described; the slitting knives first engage the face of the potato which is thus given a series of parallel slits, and the slicing knife then cuts oil the slitted portion, which drops into the chute' 18, in the form of long narrow strips, which immediately pass out of the hopper through the axial outlet opening, which is large they do not form a part of this invention.

llhen desired, the slitting knives may be removed, and the slicing knives then act to A screw 51, is passed through a hole in the wall of the drum, and through out the potato in thin slices, for chips, or

7 ,cl aim as new drum.-

Ha'ving described myinvention, what I Iatent, is Z 1. 111a slicing machine of the character described, a rotatable drum having an opening in its face, again mounted in said drum and adjustable with respect: to said: opening, a sleeve rotatably mounted on the pin,

hi iing spaced Ydisk knives thereon which .7 project through the said opening, and; a slicing knife mounted on the face of the drum, rear of the disk knives and adjustable toward and away from the said face of the 2. In a foil, edin the faceof the drum, a transverse,

adjustable slicing knife on the drum above the saidfinlet and spaced slitting knives in advance of the slicingknife.

on the door, While the othernhalf is formed o'n-the-chute, the face of said drum having an opening therein, a transverse, adjustable and desire to secure by Letters.

slicing machine of the character described, a metal druin, one end of which isfopen, and-having an integral inclosed chute providedwith an axial, laterally dis-1 111p outlet, and an inlet which is slicing knife on tl e druin above saidHOPeR- mg, and spaced slltting knlves on the drum r in advance of the slicing knives.

4 In aslicing llltCllllle Of the character: described the combination with ;a casing having aphopper, of a drum rotatably. mounted intthe casing having-aclosed. chute which terminates in ,an axial circular outlet opening, an inlet slot to the chute being formed; through the peripheral faceof the drunnfla 'slicingiknife securedto the drum;

and extendingpartially oversaid inlet slot means forgadjusting the knife tow'ary the thickness'of the slice cut by said knife, slotted portions on opposite sides of said drum r a ;b olt r mounted in said slots and a jam nut on'oneend of saidsbolt, an opening being formed in the, peripheral face of the drum above saidfbolt; a sleeve loosely, mounted on said .bolt, and; spaceclishtt ng knives rigidly niountedon the. sleeve and which 'ro'ect throu h the said oienin said slitting knives being in advance of the slicing. knife, in,thev directionof rotation of the drum; I f

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence "of two'witnes ses.

AUGUSTUS L. 'nneELBAci 1 llVitnesses: V V G. SARGENT ELLIOTT, EL ZABETHSMIT 

